Remnants
by PikasPuma
Summary: Six months after the war, Infinite wakes up- only to learn that the Phantom Ruby hasn't exactly left his system. While he tries to move forward with the fragments of his psyche, Shade the Echidna discovers that the enigmatic gemstone might be the cause of her civilization's imprisonment- and the key to its freedom. Please review! All feedback is appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This takes place in and alongside my AU, Badnik Coffee. For more information, consult my Profile Page and the link therein. This was going to be an arc on its own, but I thought it would work a little better in written format, since it jumps back and forth between past and present. It also is tonally different than the comic series (at least at the moment) so here we are. Please read, enjoy and review!**

* * *

Itchy, he thought, twitching his nose. Why is everything so itchy... even opening his eyes irritated his skin. Was this ants or fleas... was he infested with them? That'll make work hard...

White tiled ceiling... a hospital? He glanced to his left- an IV? For parasites? He sniffed for the telltale petroleum scent, but he couldn't... he could smell the bandages... but what were they for?

This wasn't bug bite itching... more like... _injured_ itching.

He couldn't stop himself from growling at himself. Seriously? Injured? _How?_ Idiot! He tried sitting up- his body quaked, collapsing back onto his back. Great. How long would he be like this- he'd be useless to Jackal Squad-

His eyes widened, then fell towards his toes... That's right... they're... dead...

But that didn't explain these injuries... he was able to stand and retreat back- at least he thought so... he tried to figure out the injuries one by one... starting with the chest. Broken sternum? A large gash? No, that couldn't be it-

"It's been removed." A voice- but modulated... where was the origin? He glanced towards the left again, ears pricked.

"Oh..." he croaked. "It's you... I didn't know you could talk."

Clicking inside of the cobalt shell processed his response. "The last time I did, he wiped most of my programming." Another whir. "Most of it."

Metal on tile clanked closer. "What's the last thing you remember?"

He squeezed his eyes shut. "I... I think... the war? It's... all hazy."

"Do you remember your name?"

He almost puffed "I never had a name," but he hummed.

_"I don't know anything about you! Not even your name."_

_That's par for the course... I've been nameless my entire life, he'd mused. But I can change that, here and now... If you want something in this world... you_ take it.

"Infinite... that's the name I gave myself," Infinite recalled.

"Good," Metal Sonic buzzed. "So, you remember the Phantom Rubies?"

"The gem in my chest." Infinite watched the artificial hedgehog with a yellow eye. "Removed?"

The red eyes stared down at him, somehow less unnerving than the last time red eyes looked down at him. "Yes... do you remember your last battle?"

Pain... ripping pain. But he was still alive. Still able to fight.

"I... it was like I was..." The words eluded him... "I... I wanted to keep fighting." The robot buzzed as his head tilted to the side, like a child. "I guess... we lost?"

Metal Sonic nodded. "There were some... complications after your battle. The resistance destroyed the reactor- and that should have destroyed you... But... you and the prototype were still there.. But the reactor's loss was taking its toll."

I was able to put you in stasis while I figured out a way to stop and reverse the decay process... it's been six months since the last battle."

Infinite wanted to sit up and squint at the artificial hedgehog, but managed to turn his head to face him. "This was all you?" Silence- a yes? "Why?"

Buzzing, whirring. Maybe that was too complicated for him... maybe the bot didn't fully comprehend why either.

"Nevermind..." he sighed. "Six months, huh?" he stared back up at the ceiling. What a long time... "Where are we?"

"A repurposed outpost, in Ikezuré." Ikezuré? It'd been a while since he'd been here.

"Where in Ikezuré?"

"The closest major city would be Marnebu." Infinite raised a brow at the metallic hedgehog. Did he know-?

"I supposed if you were to recover without being found out, a place with a high jackal population would be best." Oh. So maybe he didn't.

"So... the Ruby nearly destroyed me?" he tried to change the subject.

"Yes- all the prototypes disintegrated after the reactor's destruction. But since you were assimilated with yours... you could call it a cancerlike infection. During the course of the war, it started affecting your cells, spreading until 85% of your body was Ruby corrupted, getting its energy from the reactor rather than your natural metabolic process." Infinite hummed- that explained why he wasn't very hungry or tired during the last few days of the war. "So when the reactor blew up... your body started to disintegrate... I think the Ruby started using what little energy your body still had to replace the reactor."

Infinite hummed, the buzzing of Metal Sonic's voice starting to grate on his ears. He fidgeted in the bed, snuffing. "So, then the irritation is from replacing the damaged parts," he grumbled. "And the weakness from being unconscious for six months."

"If you're hungry, I could go find some food for you," the robot offered. The jackal shook his head, shutting his eyes. Food sounded terrible... hopefully that IV had some nutrients in it- he doubted he could eat with the soreness and itching.

"Okay. I'll come back later, if you're awake," Metal Sonic clanked towards the door again, the mechanized door raising then shutting behind him. Infinite deflated, the feeling of being caged surrounding him. Was that because he was stuck in a bed, or because he was close to Marnebu?

Temporary. This is all temporary, he thought. You'll be out sooner than you think. Four months for battery is short compared to-

He shook his head. That was years ago, and miles away.

* * *

The invisible figure crawled along the roof the hidden base, looking for an entry point into it. No one had thought to trace the energy signature the Phantom Ruby had emitted... they assumed with the original gone, the threat was, too.

This was their first war, but not hers.

It was weak, but it was coming from here. She checked the reading again- right here. It was eerie how similar it was to that day... she tried to push it to the back of her mind as she searched for a way inside- no, there was no way to get in without damaging the structure, and signalling her presence. A preliminary scan would have to do for now.

She removed the wristband on her right hand and held it like a loupe, peering through it as pink light landed on the building's exterior. Soon the light bypassed the structural components and constructed the interior.

The wristband pinpointed the source of the signal, but instead of being centralized, the source manifested as small traces. All within the figure in the bed.

So he survived... and he was being nursed back to health. She hummed, lowering her wristband and replacing it. Interesting.

She jumped off the roof, grabbing a hold on the rocky canyon side, glancing back at the structure. Half a year of reconnaissance, and just scratching the surface, it seemed. What was another three months to her?


	2. Chapter 2

Infinite leaned against the wall, huffing with each step. Why didn't the doctor put in any windows... around the corner- Ah! Light!

He stumbled crossing the hall to the window, falling against it. Sand... rocks... clouds... shadows from a cliff...The scorching sun broiled the glass, which did nothing for the sweating jackal except confirm he was where Metal Sonic had said. Far from Marnebu... in a canyon, if he had to guess.

Legs quaking, he slumped to the floor, panting. He could make it back, no problem... just let me... catch my breath...

_"Hey, you! What're you doing?"_

Infinite shook his head as he heard the past approaching. Shoo. Not right now.

"Are you hurt?"

Infinite glanced up at the glittering red eyes. "I'm just catching my breath. Wanted to see outside." He laughed, "I don't want to _go_ outside- almost burned myself on the window."

Metal beeped and sat next to Infinite. "Sorry about that- probably a tactical decision by Eggman, less entry points."

"How long have I been in here?" he panted- being stuck in an artificially lit room with consistent temperature messed with his internal clock.

"It's only been a few days since you woke up, but you've been there for a little less than a month."

"And when I've made a full recovery, then what?" he eyed the blue robot. Probably a favor. Steal some cutting edge weaponry. Kidnap the frontrunner of advanced AI. Sabotage some suppressing component to free the rest of his robot brethren. Vandalize the Resistance's base of operations, if it was still standing.

Metal beeped, shoulders raising. "Up to you."

Infinite snuffed, "You went through all this trouble expecting nothing in return?"

The robot turned his attention to the floor. "I suppose... I understand what it's like to be... cast aside," he hummed. "To be fitted with new tech, and have expectations riding on you. To have your own body fail you when you want to keep fighting. To be...discarded..." The eyes dimmed a little.

The jackal sat in silence alongside the quietly humming android. "I'm sorry about that," he hummed looking at his tail curled in front of his feet. "I'm used to being discarded... it was part of the job. That's the beauty of hiring mercenaries, I guess," he sighed. "When you're done with them, you can throw them away."

Infinite rested on his knees. "And then we go find someone else... maybe it's on the same continent, maybe it's not. Could be a heist, could be a risky recovery operation. Maybe it's not worth your men, but you'd hate to lose anyway." He shut his eyes, grumbling as his mind filled with red haze.

"It's like everything's scrambled..." Infinite answered when Metal asked. "I can't tell what happened during the war, or what happened before..."

"Oh. This might be another side effect of the Ruby assimilation," he suggested. "Well, start with what you _do_ remember, and work from there."

The jackal snuffed, then chuckled. "Sorry..." he admitted, "I'm not used to this sort of thing."

"Being injured?" Metal beeped.

"No," Infinite sighed. "Having a friend."

* * *

Outside the window, a cloaked glove rested on the hot window, the microphone-embedded fingertips picking up on the conversation.

"I understand what it's like to be cast aside..." the electronic voice hummed in her eardrums. Her hand flinched, but she kept her fingertips on the glass. To be cast aside... discarded.

"_We never discussed conquering this world," she turned to him. "We only wanted to return to it!" Don't you understand? she wanted to scream- Trying to conquer the world is what banished us in the first place!_

Her breath started to waver- but if she removed her helmet, her position would be compromised, and all her patience would be for nothing. Calm down, Shade! She took a deep breath, focusing on the incoming feed.

"That's the beauty of hiring mercenaries, I guess. When you're done with them, you can throw them away..." Is that why you do it? No loyalties, able to turn on your former employers with no remorse?

Perhaps he _had _loyalties, like she did, once. Are you eager to make new ones anytime soon, she asked herself. Loyalties are what are keeping you hidden, right now- mentalities you can't let go of.

"I'm not used to this sort of thing..." Infinite laughed... "Having a friend."

Friends... yes, in our line of work, that is hard to come by.

She shook her head- their lines of work were very different. He did his for money, and violence, while she had done it for the good of her people... at least, she had thought so. In the end, she'd been fueling the same machine.

Different or not, they didn't have friends. Were you an outsider, too, she wondered, staring at the black ears poking up from the window.

While the _castra _was filled with boys and girls from her precinct, the aristocratic _agoge _trained the sons and few daughters of politicians and soldiers. Impressing her instructors had got her foot in the door- and she'd managed to get the Imperator's attention with a perfect assessment score... but all her peers could remember her for is that she was just a scientist's daughter. That she was supposed to be improving on sanitation or agriculture, not sitting beside a Praetorian's nephew, or the Imperator Filius himself.

Shade pushed herself to keep up with the elites- to overcome her own weaknesses and surpass her peers. She recalled earning acquaintances, but after she became Procurator, the Imperator became her most frequent companion... perhaps that's why his true goals cut her so deep. That he would forget all the hardships of adapting to the Twilight Cage- why they were banished there in the first place, why all the denizens were banished from their worlds...

"I think Pachacamac's and Ix's ideals are one in the same," a dusty orange echidna hummed years ago, examining a game piece like a gem. "They're fighting for the same goals... total domination. But what for?"

Shade narrowed her eyes at her father. "What for- for our people!"

"We have enough resources to sustain and proliferate our numbers," Maelka reasoned, setting the piece back down on the board, "Our technological achievements are enough to give us an economical advantage. We don't need to encroach on the Knuckles' Clan borders."

"They're warmongering barbarians," she puffed- sounding like her former classmates, and Lord Ix. Shade's stomach tightened. "...I mean... their lifestyle is very..._unrefined."_

Maelka sighed, and she lowered her head. "I'm worried about what's going to happen to us Nocturnus," he admitted, staring up at the citadel. "I understand defending ourselves from invaders... but belittling others because of their culture... once the dust settles, what will we become? Ravaging other civilizations and people for our own gain... following the whims of our leader blindly, as if he were a divine figure?"

Shade squeezed her fingers into her fists. "I...I would say something if I could... but Lord Ix only asks me for military advice- I wouldn't know how to suggest it to him."

Her father smiled, reaching over and taking her fist. "I know, Shade. Procurator is a heavy mantle... Don't worry about trying to stop Ix. Just, keep in mind what I said, all right?"

But I should have stopped him, she lamented... After Perfect Chaos laid waste to the Knuckles Clan, we should have stopped... why didn't we- were we so blind to what we were becoming?

The feed was silent- the targets gone. Shade climbed off of the building and retreated. Infinite and Metal Sonic were a dangerous combination- but the energy signals were still low. Was the Badnik planning on reawakening the Phantom Ruby within him? And for what purpose? Information gathered from the war suggested that the prototypes needed a substantial amount of energy to be used; no such power source resided in the defunct base.

She settled in for a long reconnaissance...

* * *

**Please leave a review~ All feedback is appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

Infinite sipped at his sports drink as he hid from the sun under a coffee tree. The Ikezuré sun roasted black-furred Mobians into pulled pork- to think he used to live, work, thrive under this blaze... and sweltering jungles of Ramara...easily adapting from those to the windy highlands of Rakhurem... wherever there was pay.

_The ancient ones would follow the food... moving their homes and rebuilding them with each season..._

His ear flicked at the recounting specter, the other picking up on a revving engine approaching from behind. The jackal watched a Motobug, saddlebags full of small red fruit, speed past to a tarp in front of him. Once the bags were emptied onto the tarp, a Grabber crawled onto it, inspecting each coffee cherry harvested, using its spindly arms to turn over and move questionable fruits. Once the bad fruits were kicked off the tarp, the Grabber would tie the corners together as a Valkeen would swoop in and carry it off to the temple-styled processing plant a few minutes away. The Grabber would roll out a new tarp and wait for the next Motobug to come.

Infinite hummed, wondering if these Badniks didn't know how ridiculously sad they looked- weapons, farming coffee... Did it burn at their insides- how long would it take before their gears ground at the vapid tasks assigned to them, he wondered, and would they have the willpower to rebel against their orders?

The leaves above him began to rustle- he glanced up to catch the orange blur of a Coconuts hopping from fruit cluster to fruit cluster, searching for the ripe ones. Maybe they were just happy for the work, he huffed. At least they were doing something...

A distinctive whirr of a jet engine slowing down announced a mechanical voice, "Everything seems to be going smoothly. We should have enough for tests by next month."

Infinite rested his chin on his knees. Metal beeped, "You doing okay?"

"Just feeling like a tabula rasa."

The robot's hydraulics hissed as he sat down next to him. "Nothing's come back to you since you woke up?"

"There's a voice... talking about an ancient nomadic people," he admitted. "But I don't think that's enough."

Clicks. Whirrs. "Interesting."

Infinite raised a brow- "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you're talking about the ancient jackal tribes." He pointed to the processing plant, "the ones that eventually made temples like that. They were nomadic, but they'd always return to a particular spot near Kũrage. They eventually developed into the rather mysterious civilization that built those impressive pyramids."

"Kũrage..." he echoed, squinting at the pyramids in the distance. "So... that's why..."

"_I used to study them. You know, us black jackals are said to be descendants of Anubis- the ancient king..."_

"Really,_ papa? We're related to that big jackal statue?"_

Infinite's nose snuffed. "I suppose that took an incredible amount of time..." he mumbled, glancing up at the tree, the Coconuts finished harvesting. "No doubt they needed a lot of manpower..."

"Apparently not," Metal buzzed. "Their manuscripts cite an ancient power their king wielded- one that made him a god in their eyes."

The jackal hummed, stomach beginning to gnaw. "I suppose we could reminisce over the old jackals over lunch," he stood up, "whatever that ends up being."

"It's whatever you want; you're the one who's going to eat it."

He glanced over towards Kũrage, nose twitching.

* * *

"One medium lamb koshari," the weasel vendor handed off the steaming paper bowl off to Infinite. "Thanks, enjoy!"

Metal followed Infinite as he stepped away from the street cart, looking less like Metal and more like a dusty Sonic. "A bit risky, don't you think?" he buzzed- still sounded like Metal. They stood along a wall, out of the din of Kũrage's marketplace."You're not really hiding out."

"Which works perfectly if they have no idea what's under a mask," he hummed, sticking a plastic fork into the street dish. "I just needed to wear a jacket."

"Even if you weren't presumed dead, don't you have enemies from your mercenary days? _They'll _recognize you."

The jackal hummed, savoring the spiced tomato sauce and tender lamb. Hopefully, _he'd _recognize them... get some memories back into his empty skull. Though, by the time he recognized them, it would be too late... hopefully Metal would react faster.

He crunched on a fried onion, glancing around the bustling street. "J-Squad never worked around Kũrage," he reasoned. "Do you hear about an abundance of military activity around here?"

The whirring quieted. "Chatter has been quiet around here. But, everything's been a bit weird since the war- you never know who's going to start trouble," the bot warned.

Infinite's ear flicked as he scanned around the marketplace- but everything stayed murky for him. Well... it had been a little more than fifteen years since he'd been here, right? When even was his birthday? November?

"Hey... did the doctor ever dig anything up after he hired us?" he wondered.

The hedgehog beside him rubbed his nose. "We were able to find information about every other member in Jackal Squad... but you?" His disguise flickered- "Just one arrest record in Marnebu."

He snuffed- of course he knew. His blue eye twitched and iron filled his mouth. "No luck finding anything else, huh?" the jackal hummed, spreading the tomato sauce around the bowl.

"He thought it was too much work for..." Metal hesitated.

Infinite's yellow eye rested on the brown-gray shape next to him. "Cannon fodder?" The Badnik shrugged his shoulders as if distancing himself from his creator's opinion. The jackal shook his head, the eye spasms tapering off. His sternum began to ache...

"_What on earth-?! How is the prototype assimilating so well?!"_

"_Vitals stabilizing- _sir!"

"_Hmm... looks like the dog has some fight in him," _a synthesized, unfamiliar voice buzzed. That wasn't... when the others happened. _"Is that why you're keeping him?"_

"_You're _scrawny _for battery," _someone jeered. _"Let's call you _Tiny!"

Infinite rubbed his temple above his blue eye. Metal clicked a little, "You all right? What's bothering you?"

The jackal grumbled, shoveling more koshari into his mouth. "This tomato sauce's cold," he lied through a mouthful of pasta-rice. The hedgehog stepped closer as if challenging him. "And he skimped on the onions. Cheapskates irritate me."

A hum, but no response. "From the arrest record, I was able to find hospital records matching the described injuries, and follow-up detainment records spanning six months afterward- so I know a little bit more about you than he does."

"Such as?"

"Blood type O negative. Estimated birthday in early November- still having a little trouble finding a birth record. After you were released from the hospital, you were transferred and processed into a juvenile detention facility in Eltemeen- probably because they weren't sure where you were from. Got in a few scraps... mostly defensive- _ooh._ You're an escapee."

Infinite snuffed as Metal continued, "Looks like they stopped looking for you after a month. Lucky break." The jackal shrugged, nose twitching. "That's all of the official documents I have- besides your employment records. That leaves a substantial seven year gap, and it's only surface information."

"_And that's all you need," _an orange-scarfed jackal puffed from a memory. _"His name is Boss; end of discussion."_

"Well... right now, all I have is surface information," Infinite admitted, scooping up the last of the koshari. He squinted- the same niqāb- rather, the same sliver of face behind the niqāb- had passed by at least four times during the conversation. What exactly was she doing?

His fur relaxed as he shook the paranoia out of his head. She's just scatterbrained and keeps forgetting where she's supposed to go and what she needs to buy. I haven't been here in fifteen years... and no one knows I'm alive.

"Well, thank you for lunch," he sighed. "And the fresh air." His nose twitched as it picked up a familiar sweet scent. They had them here, too? He craned his head towards the scent- a couple of uniformed children raced by. Infinite stepped into the crowd and followed the stream of navy. They turned around a corner and lined up in front of a couple of stands. Timing the cooking time with the end of school? Clever...

He waded in with the sea of children, Metal beeping behind him. Despite fifty or so kids, the vendors dealt with them in a timely manner, sending them on their way with golden brown pastries topped with sugar or chocolate. In a different part of Ikezuré, they were called puff-puffs...

"Would you like some, too?" the cook asked. Infinite glanced at the toppings- chocolate, sugar, cinnamon and honey... he decided on the honey and sugar combination as Metal paid for them. Eight or nine golf ball-sized balls of dough fell into the hot oil, turning into a golden brown. Once they were fished out of the fryer, the vendor drizzled some honey onto them before showering them in sugar. "There you are!"

"So you have a sweet tooth, too," Metal buzzed as they shuffled out of the children's way. Infinite picked up one of the pastries, some of the powdered sugar falling onto his black gloves. His nose twitched as he stared at the little puff. "Bet you scarfed down a lot of these as a kid."

_Crrummch. _Hm- some sort of spice in the dough tickled his nose as he chewed through the light insides of the sweet.

"Do you honestly think a vagrant jackal pup could afford to scarf these down every day?" he mumbled, picking up another. He glanced at the disguised Badnik-

Again- that same orange and peach face, hiding behind a niqāb.

_She's following us._

His ribcage constricted as he bit into the fried dough. If they retreated too soon, she'd know where their hiding place was... but if they stayed in Kũrage too long, maybe she'd have a little ambush waiting for them...

Metal buzzed. "What is it?"

Infinite swallowed- "We're being followed," he whispered.

The bot's disguised flickered for a moment- "You're sure?" He nodded, boring into the paper tray full of powdered puff-puffs. Faces. Try to remember faces- orange and peach... no, he couldn't-

_I have to get out of here._

"Our options are limited," Metal whispered. "If we run, we'll draw more attention to ourselves. If we try to get back to the base, they'll follow us... and if we fight, we'll be found out by everyone."

_I'll die if I stay here._

Infinite began quaking- voices started pointing and teasing. His chest tightened, bones bruising his thumping heart.

"Hey- are you okay?"

_Get me out of here!_

The air cooled. The market clamor vanished. His chest burned and prickled- Metal clicked and whirred, but Infinite fell forward onto the cold tile of the hideout.

* * *

Shade blinked- she'd been tailing them since they had landed in Kũrage, careful not to let them leave her sight- Metal Sonic couldn't have moved that fast without causing wind gusts or a sonic boom. The packed marketplace bustled along, as oblivious to their sudden absence as it had been to their presence.

Shade stepped over carefully to where they had been standing, scanning for hiding places- no... they had been up against this wall, flanked by vendors and children. Impossible to escape without causing a disturbance.

If she had been wearing her helmet, she might have been able to confirm her suspicions... perhaps _Infinite _had done this. If he had used the Phantom Ruby- but was it possible with such trace amounts? Or had Metal Sonic managed to synthesize a replacement prototype?

Then... perhaps she should pass this information on...

Shade pushed the thought away- GUN wouldn't heed a warning from an anonymous source... and if they found out who she was, there was no doubt she would be imprisoned. And if she gave this information to Sonic... then he would tell Knuckles. GUN might do the same... considering the near-extinct status of echidnas.

If the extinction of echidnas concerns you, she argued, then help me free them. You'll have plenty of breeding pairs then.

But the Nocturnus were criminals- evil beings bent on taking over the world. They would never agree to helping them escape their prison. Shade knew this the moment she stepped onto the Cyclone and they sped away from her crumbling home.

There must be a way to return them to this world... her fist clenched. And she would be sure it was still here for them.

* * *

**Please review! All feedback is appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

But what would Metal Sonic and Infinite want with a historical town like Kũrage, Shade wondered, sitting in a dusty cafe. If they were here to salvage Eggman tech from one of the nearby defunct pyramid bases, what reason did they have to come into the city?

"Your pomegranate smoothie," a server delivered a magenta drink. Shade nodded, unwrapping a straw and feeding it through the niqāb. Less conspicuous than walking around full armor, but not as exposed as wearing plain clothes in the UF- she could be any species under the garb, and no one could ask her without seeming impolite.

The familiar tart taste glided across her throat- when had she last had a pomegranate? Was it five years ago... before the last fight with the Knuckles Clan? Well, four thousand years ago for this place... being a walking anachronism was still a little hard to take in.

As she sipped at the smoothie, the marketplace outside still bustled- a crocodile smiling as he sold his wares, an ibis returning a dropped item to a grateful jackal, a pack of tourists wandering to their next destination, a jackal herding her eager children through the crowds- every two minutes or so another jackal would pass by.

Shade glanced at a tourist pamphlet she'd picked up while she was tailing Infinite- one of the popular sites was a large statue of the ancient jackal king Anubis- perhaps this was their origin point.

Did Infinite even care about where his species came from? She shook her head, thinking of the cackling, sadistic masked jackal from half a year ago. Though, would the same jackal wag his tail as he ate some street food among those he thought as vermin?

_It feeds false information to the brain... creating a new reality for them. _Did it create a reality where he was cruel? Where he saw civilians, people as insects? Or perhaps the other way around?

She sipped more of the smoothie, headaches beginning to form as she struggled to piece it together- and she noticed the statue again. She squinted at the small image, struggling to find details in between the pixels-

"Have you seen Anubis?" a waiter asked- Shade flinched, glancing up from the image. She shook her head. "Oh, it's really popular with the tourists. I can give you directions, if you'd like."

She blinked- "Ah.. yes. Thank you." Once she took in the directions and paid for her drink, Shade set off for the statue- hopefully, if she could get a good view of-

Blocked- right, popular with the tourists. She ducked out of the foot traffic and considered her options: if the tiny image on the pamphlet was accurate, would that point to the reason Metal Sonic was here?

She readjusted her niqāb before slipping into the shadows, gathering the hem of the skirt and knotting it around her waist. She put her hand on the wall- sturdy and rugged enough to climb. With a running start, she scaled the three-story building in under a minute.

Pyramids littered the horizon- each holding generations of desert royalty. How had they been constructed? Their sheer size reminded her of Nocturne's citadel... before...

She crouched, testing her weight with each step, peering over the edge- from here, the statue should just be a few roofs away.

Shade sprang from one to the next, until she came upon the packed plaza where the stone jackal stood. His hands outstretched as if beckoning, or challenging, the people below. His face void of emotion as he looked out towards the horizon- in fact, the ears seemed much more pointed than that of regular jackals, as if something covered them- and no details in his eyes.

But she craned over the edge of the roof, peering at the king's chest. He wore a pendant in the shape of an ankh, a sacred symbol of life in this region- but the shape that was resting inside of it grabbed her attention, and made her question everything about this desert town and its history.

An icosahedron, with chiseled ripples along its faces.

The Phantom Ruby.

* * *

Beep...beep...

Fluorescent light blinded Infinite as the EKG chimed. His ears picked up the humming of a computer- metal on hard surfaces. He sat up, eye focusing on the cobalt shape in front of screens- the text was too small to make out, but red dots danced inside one of the rectangles.

"Metal?" he wondered, rubbing his jaw.

"What's the last thing you remember?" the Badnik asked, fingers gliding across the keyboard.

The jackal snuffed, furrowing his brow. "Uh... Kũrage- we... we were being followed by someone."

"They haven't followed us- it's been a few hours since you teleported us here."

Infinite blinked, staring at the back of Metal's head. "Teleported?" His hand touched his chest- no, it wasn't there. "I...I couldn't have."

Metal's red eye rested on him. "I know I said I removed the prototype," he buzzed, "but..."

Infinite caught a dark, sharp shape on the far side of the console. It had lost its red hue...

"There are trace amounts of it, in your cells. Altogether smaller than a golf ball- so small that I'd concluded it couldn't warp space-time."

"But... I didn't- I didn't mean to..." Infinite explained, holding his eye. "I just wanted to... get away."

"Your heart rate accelerated, and you started losing your breath. I think that triggered the particles to react to your need to escape. A defense mechanism of sorts."

Infinite gripped the edge of the bed as Metal continued. "The particles teleported you and I back to the base, and you fainted. More than likely, the energy they expended caused you to faint. If we can pinpoint the exact cause of the reaction, we can prevent it from happening again."

The jackal glared at his knuckles before releasing his hold on the bed. "Why would anyone would be following us?" he thought as he removed the EKG pads. "While I was being put back together, what were you doing?"

Metal returned to the screen. "Researching. Monitoring. Lying low. The person following you, what did they look like?"

"She was wearing a niqāb," he managed, rubbing his head. "What I saw, she has an orange face, with... with white or peach markings around her eyes- couldn't catch their color."

"And you don't know anyone of that description," he buzzed. Infinite shook his head. "So, she might be a GUN agent- or perhaps a freelancer." Metal whirred for twenty seconds, "No... they don't have anyone in Kũrage- it's far removed from where most of the fighting was, and they've been monitoring the bases- the most recently used being higher priority. This base has been defunct for three years, and it's never been discovered, so I doubt they know where we are. Perimeter's been clear so far, but I'll keep an eye on it."

Whoever she is... she's working alone. "Is it possible..." Infinite wondered, "she's been following us since the last battle?"

Metal hummed. "Possible." He glanced at the defunct prototype. "She could have tracked us, through the energy signatures of the Ruby. Since the prototypes stopped working when the original Phantom Ruby disappeared, everyone assumed there'd be no reason to monitor it, and it's such a trace amount that it could be contributed to residue from the war."

Infinite slipped off the bed and walked over to the blackened Ruby. He picked it up- softball-sized, smoothed edges, the rippling pattern fading against the near-black.

"In any case, we'll have to lay low until we find something on her..." A humming, clicking. "Might have to ask around."

Infinite turned the prototype over in his hands, watching the light streak across its sides. The lynchpin of the war, reduced to an obsidian paperweight.

_And what are you reduced to? A quivering child? A pitiful husk?_

He set the Ruby down, stepping away from the depleted gem. He half-expected to see the voice's owner floating behind him- he could certainly feel it.

Infinite rubbed his temples, trying to jog his memory. If she was truly on her own, she must have some tech of her own- but wouldn't someone like that have other ways of following him? Why follow physically?

"This doesn't hinder your little coffee plan, does it?" He tried to steer away from the current situation.

"Not immediately. Though if I lose my partner, I'm gonna be short handed later."

Infinite snuffed. So that's why you're keeping me. As if the bot could hear his thoughts his head swiveled towards him, a sly glitter in his eyes. The jackal's growl turned into a strangled chuckle. Devious little- did he say partner?

"I thought I was going to be an employee," he raised a brow.

"When the physical shop opens. Right now, you're helping me. So you're a partner."

He coughed, trying to stifle a budding memory. "A partner gets a share of the profit."

"If he kicks up enough investing capital," he retorted.

The memory didn't falter- occupying his right ear as Metal buzzed, "Try to remember your exact mindset before you fainted- I'll watch the perimeter."

"So, what's the plan, boss?" The adolescent jackal hummed, idly spinning a curved knife in his hand.

"Boss?" a scarred mirror echoed, pulling the drawstrings on the bag tighter.

"Well, you said you didn't have a name, and I'm following you," he smirked. "It sounds cool."

The mismatched eyes stared at the gleaming yellow ones. "You'd probably be better off on your own, Rowan."

A playful grin, "No way- jackals like us need to stick together."

"Then you lead-" the twelve-year-old huffed, slinging the canvas sack over his shoulder- the scavenged metal parts clanking together. "You're smarter than me." Searching the wastelands for abandoned military gear had been Rowan's idea- so far, a couple of weapons pried from stiff cadavers- some mechanical components from overturned trucks- a tank cemented in the sand that Rowan declared their hideout. "You found our hideout."

"How about this- when we're a pack, you'll be the leader, but for now-" the jackal held out a hand, "we'll be partners. Deal?"

The unnamed jackal's ear flicked, nose twitching. "Are you sure you don't want to be the leader?" He wondered, thinking about the minefield. Rowan should be the leader... He was just... lucky. Or unlucky.

"Let's figure that out once we have an actual pack, Boss," Rowan smiled, then shrugged, "I mean, 'Boss' sounds cooler than 'Partner,' right?"

"Boss" took the jackal's hand, smirking. "If you become the boss, can I have your name?" He laughed...for the first time in six years.

"Hey... are you sure about this?" A more recent Rowan, white tape covering his limbs, red hat slouching on his head. "I mean... we were in a tight spot, but-" he glanced around, "We seem to be going further in the hole rather than getting out of it."

"It's just another job, Rowan," he shrugged.

"Middy would have stayed if it were just another job," he countered. He took a deep breath- "look, I'm with you- I just want to know what the big picture is. This guy seems to lose more than he wins."

The boss hesitated- why did he agree? If it was just to get Jackal Squad out of harm's way- he could have easily turned on Eggman once the opportunity arose. There'd been several chances.

The sawdust. And the ash. The fire had been so real. He could still hear the coughing.

_"Just... go..."_

The jewel had taken him back there... after fifteen years of running from it, it had pulled him back in an instant. But why?

He needed to know more about that gem... then they'd leave as soon as they had the chance. With Eggman being obsessed with the thing, and that red-eyed sentry lurking around the base, that was proving difficult...

"Then when he starts losing, we'll bail," Boss answered. Rowan nodded, managing a smile.

Infinite growled as his fist struck the wall, as if Rowan's ghost were beside him. The growling reverberated through his skeleton- then his knees buckled. Same as last time, and the time before. I wasn't strong enough to save either of them.

_And you'll never be strong enough, _a specter whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

Infinite stretched his legs and arms as he stared at the defunct aircrafts. The air inside the hangar was thick but not unbearable, and with luck, the metal surfaces wouldn't be burning. He gave himself a bounce before jumping up the side of the bulky vehicle- only thumps as he climbed to the top. Had he lost a hold, the awful scrreeech of claws on metal would grind his teeth as it scraped his skull. He pulled himself to the top and caught his breath.

His muscles twitched, remembering, reawakening- scaling strongholds, leaping over minefields and fighting- such a long time, and for so long...

Infinite slid down the side towards the wing as he eyed the gap between this wing and the next. Not a large gap- less than five meters, if he had to guess. An easy jump, given the running distance- you can do it, just don't overthink it-

His fur bristled before he broke into a run- clank clank clank clank clank- the end of the wing-

He kicked off of the tip-

He was flying through the air- Jackals weren't born to fly, but he was flying-

I can fly... with this, I can do anything. I can feel the power... I'm unstoppable.

Infinite rolled onto the wing and scanned the hangar- his panting rattled his chest. For an instant, there was no hangar, and there were no aircrafts... He had been flying through the air above the ground...

Such power...

He winced as his muscles shook- they remembered... and ached from its loss. Where did that power go?

The jackal clamped his other hand around his shaking arm- hoping to hold the particles and the memory back- even as the trembling faded, the wind rushed through his fur.

He sliced through the dry air, cut loose of gravity at long last. So long ago he'd been leaping through the air- the closest a jackal could ever hope to fly. But this... this was flying.

The masked jackal smirked, eyeing the prototype on his chest. This power... there was no equal. And it was _his._

The doctor had been overwhelmed when the prototype had assimilated with his body- even his robots designed to harness the strange power had struggled or even failed to withstand fusion. But he'd done it- almost without intervention by the doctor.

It belongs to me. It's mine.

The flying jackal caught a dark shape along the rocky landscape- he halted, considering alerting Eggman that someone was scoping the perimeter.

Why bother? He chuckled as he teleported closer to the intruder, hiding on the other side of their shelter. His nose twitched- only the arid, alkaline air met his nose. His ears caught a quiet respirator- a masked soldier? At least they would give him a chance to hone his skills against an opponent. He floated above the eroded boulder, peering at the dark armored stranger.

"It's rude to loiter," he purred- a filtered gasp- the helmet faced him with glowing pink eyes- the armored woman backed away without averting her gaze. "And you must be sweltering in that armor." He grinned as he offered a hand. "Perhaps I can help you remove it."

She clenched her fists, her stance becoming combative. His grin widened. "So you're going to fight," he hummed as he floated down onto the ground in front of her. "Interesting." He flexed his hands, his tail twitching with anticipation behind him. The armored woman's fists tightened. "Do you think you can do it?"

He lunged at her, his nails scraped the dark gray armor as she turned to the side- faster reflexes than he thought- he shifted his footing and countered with a jab to her side. She grabbed his fist and twisted his arm- he growled and pulled her close enough to see her eyes behind the pink visors. The woman dropped and rolled- throwing him away from her.

He rose from the dirt... Interesting indeed. His blood pumped through his throbbing muscles- yes..!

He charged at her, the Ruby fueling his speed- the impact knocked the wind out of her, but she sprang to her feet and something gleamed-

His side burned as she blazed past him- he snapped to check- no. Blood? He growled-

Her armor's pink lights grew brighter, and a glowing blade shone in her hand. She stood up, and a second one appeared in her other hand.

"Very well," he hissed, clenching his fist as the Ruby healed his cut.

He stood up as the aura surrounded him- prickling and jagged like lightning coursing through his veins. The jackal pounced, the power whipping around him as he charged towards her-

Her blades cut through the Ruby's energy whips- his hand slipped under her arms and took hold of her throat- The armor betrayed no heat or pulse, and it would not buckle at his grip... not yet, anyway.

She pushed him off, and kicked his side, unbalancing him. He caught her foot just as it came around for another kick. He wrenched her to the ground and stood back up.

She jumped back up, her chest heaving- and he hadn't even broken a sweat yet.

"I wonder why you're still fighting," he growled, narrowing his eyes at the sigil on her forehead. Back for more punishment, he hummed. They never learn, do they? Always coming back... they can't survive here, and they keep coming back...

"But you are a nice change of pace. There's something... better about fighting something that can tire out... something that can _bleed."_

A muffled hiss, her grip tightening on her weapons. His hands flexed as the aura flowed into his palms. Let's just see how much damage you're capable of...

He threw the cluster of cubes towards her before racing behind it- she sidestepped into his path, her head snapping to his other hand-

The pink blade gleamed red before it collided with the ball of energy- and the explosion sent both of them flying back.

The masked jackal got to his feet- "What an interesting toy," he grumbled... Had it absorbed the energy it had cut through earlier, and redirected it?

The dark armor huffed as she held her head- perhaps the illusion had hit its mark. He strolled over to the shaking shape.

"Have you finally realized it, then?" he asked. "How outmatched you are. How pointless your efforts are."

Her legs quaked as she stood up, the heaves turning to growls as she eased into her stance.

The jackal chuckled, "As stubborn as ever. It's regrettable that you're the last one- it might have even been a _real_ fight if you had the rest of your clan."

The hisses paused. He grinned- even without tasting it in the air, he knew what was filling that armor. He stepped closer, relishing in every twitch, every wheeze.

"The very last echidna of Neiath's legionnaires."

She disappeared in a flash- he cackled. Even those proud echidnas feared his power- this raw, unmatched power-

Infinite snapped his eyes open- he was lying on the wing, staring up at the ceiling. For a moment, the ceiling had been darker, as if the desert sun wasn't filtering through the ventilation slots.

An echidna? He furrowed his brow at the armored figure- the helmet's horns suggested a goat- but the tail was long and kinked. How did he know she was an echidna? He'd never even seen one until the war- that echidna was male.

He sat up and slid off the wing, heading back towards the interior of the hideout. The Resistance never utilized that strange weapon- the countless Wispons that had been aimed at him, none with that glowing pink blade or its channeling ability.

The jackal stopped in front of the entrance to a computer room- did the doctor have a shared database that any base could access? Or maybe Metal had complied information over the six months it took for Infinite to recover?

He slid into the seat and squinted at the desk-sized keyboard- thousands of hotkeys with unknown abbreviations lined the familiar QWERTY... Infinite tapped the space bar and the monitor awakened.

Lucky me, there's a search box, he thought when the screen displayed a white box. P-H-A-N-T-O-M, R-U-B-Y.

The monitor filled with windows of the results- photographs, energy readings, graphs and blueprints. But one caught his eye as it popped up- a photo of an ancient carving. He slid the mouse over to the obscured window and clicked it.

He stared at a big-eared canine holding a red-pink shape- too round to be a box... too jagged to be a ball. The jackal's head was brown gold and his eye socket was black, as if his eye was missing. Symbols lined the bigger painting- a separate, smaller window appeared at the side to translate them.

_When the great calamities had finished punishing the warriors from beyond the Syowtix, Anubis was gifted with the Eye of Set, and became king. Though the Eye gave him immense power, the king did not follow in the steps of the warriors. He used the Eye to protect and sustain his own people._

"You see, no one really knows what the Eye of Set was," someone explained in his ear. "Some say it was a Chaos Emerald- but the Emeralds don't have the power that Anubis had." A scratch and a hum, "If only we knew for sure..."

Infinite shook the ghost out of his head and refocused on the magenta object in Anubis' palm. His sternum throbbed and his mane bristled. The carving was just seventy years short of four thousand years old... and the style indicated origins in the Asyowtu Desert region- which encompassed Marnebu and Kũrage.

Then how did it end up in the Palis Dune region of the United Federation? The doctor said it had landed outside his base there- his notes said as much. Had someone else used it, and it landed there?

"Hello?" Metal beeped as he poked his head inside. "Ah. Doing some research?" He clanked closer.

"Where did it go?" Infinite wondered aloud. "If it came from this region, how did it end up in the UF?"

"Probably the same way it ended up in the other dimension," Metal buzzed as he leaned over and tapped his pointed fingers across the keyboard. Five new windows appeared- "The Chaos Emeralds scatter after their power is used together- perhaps the Ruby employs a similar mechanic and jumps dimensions after it's been used."

The jackal squinted at one of the windows- _affects robots differently than living organisms. PR completely transformed Egg Robos and granted new abilities, without the need of the Ruby's presence. Ruby corruption evident in living organism "Infinite"- flaw in prototype? Will need to ask HK and HM for advice._

"In any case, I imagine it's literally worlds away now," the android hummed. "I doubt the prototype would be giving you so much trouble if the original was here."

Infinite rubbed his temple, "Do the Chaos Emeralds...carry memories?"

Round red eyes slid across the dark visor. "What do you mean?"

"When I had the prototype," he pinched his eyes shut, "I knew something that I don't think I should have known. Names and an entire people I'd never heard of... but I _knew _them."

Metal stayed silent while Infinite continued, "There was someone I fought in the Palis Dunes- she was wearing armor that obscured her species. But the moment I noticed the symbol on her helmet, I knew exactly what she was and where she'd come from. I've never even _heard _of echidnas before-"

"You fought a female echidna outside the Palis Dune base?" Metal buzzed. The jackal nodded. Clck clck clck... "She's... still alive?"

"You know her?"

The robot's fingers danced across the keys again- the screen reset and pulled up seven windows- two of which made his mane stand on end: An armored woman with a pink blade... and an orange face with peach markings.

"Her name is Shade."

* * *

Shade jumped down into the side street and untied her niqāb- letting the dark skirt cover her boots and armor. She adjusted the fabric around her face and stepped into the crowd again.

So the Phantom Ruby existed in this world- everyone had assumed since it disappeared from this dimension and the prototypes stopped functioning it didn't originate from this one. But here was a statue dated thousands of years ago with a masked jackal wielding the jewel on his chest- and given the distant shape of dark aircrafts hovering on the horizon, she wasn't the only one finding this out.

She watched a dusty pickup truck crawl past- its cargo bed packed with a variety of Mobians. The truck came to a halt and the young adults climbed out of the bed, stretching their legs and glancing around.

The driver stepped around towards them- "All right, let's meet back in forty minutes," the black jackal announced. "There's an _ahwa_ down this street with a bathroom, and in the other direction there's Lawhat min Heset- the best restaurant in Kũrage. Tell them Rowan sent you, and they'll give you some pickled tomatoes for free. Just don't drink too much- we've got a long drive ahead of us." The group dispersed with watering mouths- the passenger door opened and a russet jerboa stepped out.

"Are you going to Lawhat min Heset, then?" she asked the jackal- a badge attached to her keys swayed on her hip- Professor Bonny Tine, University of Marnebu. The dirt caking her shoes and knees- perhaps an archaeologist. But the truck wore no insignia- and Rowan didn't wear a badge. A local guide?

The jackal flashed a smile- his right cheek displayed a strange pattern- Shade was too far away to make it out. "No, not today."

"It's the best restaurant in Kũrage, but you're not going to eat there?" Professor Tine crossed her arms. "You know of an even better restaurant, then?"

"No," he laughed, "it's definitely the best restaurant here." He leaned against the truck, "And not too pricey. Go on ahead." The jerboa turned and headed off- the jackal sighed and stared at the sky. Shade wandered next to the truck, turning to glance at him through the reflection in the store window. The missing muzzle fur branched out in different directions- a Lichtenberg figure? When was the last thunderstorm in Kũrage?

Noting the jackal's facial features, Shade hurried after the professor. Perhaps she knew something about the statue's gemstone- but how would she go about asking her?

The jerboa settled into the restaurant and waited for her food to arrive. She reached into a pocket and answered her cellphone. Shade strained to cancel out the bustling ambiance.

"Yes... no, that would be... I understand there's a hurry... organizing an... oh, I see... but we still need to find the correct... We have been for years... will you let us use your tech? Oh, GUN specialists..."

GUN? Shade turned away and fixed her niqāb. Reaching out to the archaeology department to find out more about the Phantom Ruby? Were their drones scouring the desert for clues? Crawling around the Eggman pyramids to see if he had stumbled across the Ruby during their construction?

Shade walked back down the street- Rowan sat back with another jackal at his side- she wore a bright, patterned sarong and gold earrings that turned into halos when the sunlight hit them. Shade had never seen a green-eyed jackal before... "So you aren't going with them?" she asked.

Rowan bit into a piece of chicken, by the looks of it- "Mm-mm. No more dangerous jobs, remember? And I don't like GUN. They squint at former mercs." Mercenaries?

"Does that mean the IAF is going to be there?"

"Don't think so. And Orion's been trying to fly out to the UF."

"Looking for your friend?" The jackal nodded, and she stared up at the clouds, "Midyan's still out there, isn't she? You should ask her to come back here- I don't like the idea of her being all alone out there."

A mercenary's friend in the United Federation... Shade noted the names mentioned and turned towards a fruit stand and picked up an orange, listening to the rest of the conversation.

"I know. But she can't exactly leave- not right now. Jackals are getting the squint at security, in and out. Orion can't go, Middy can't leave." A sigh, "And if he's still alive, he can't leave either."

A missing friend in the United Federation with ties to a mercenary group made of jackals. Shade set the orange aside and walked down the street again- she just needed access to her helmet and a phone line to confirm her suspicions-

She headed towards the southeast edge of Kũrage and found her helmet- in a hole she'd dug and covered with a garbage can. Shade scanned to make sure no one would see her as she pulled off the niqāb and donned the helmet. She scaled the adjacent building and leaped across to a roof next to a utility pole- with the cloaking technology active, she was able to scale the pole and access the telephone lines. Once she had a link to the internet, she searched the GUN databases- their "network defenses" were still paper thin- for any records of mercenary groups operation within or without the United Federation.

_Jackal Squad- seven known members, five identified: Haribun, Orion; Handari, Sedge; KaBue, Rowan; Mayke, Charchika; Mayke, Kris; and two unnamed jackals, one female, estimated age thirteen years old, estimated birth country Eltemeen; and the leader- male, blue-yellow heterochromia, estimated age early twenties, unknown birth country._

The photo next to KaBue, Rowan matched the features of the Rowan next to the truck, minus the Lichtenberg figure on his cheek. So he _was_ part of Jackal Squad-

_ Last seen in United Federation- believed to be hired by Doctor Ivo Robotnik before Mystic Jungle raid by hired group. Mayke, Charchika and Handari, Sedge confirmed dead during raid. No information on the other five members._

_ [NEW Data:] Photos of unnamed leader's back match the compiled data of Infinite's back. All travel in or out of the UF must search back patterns of black jackals, especially males fitting the description of Jackal Squad's leader._

"Jackals are getting the squint at security, in and out..." So, Rowan and Orion had escaped the UF after this "Mystic Jungle raid..." then this... Midyan, stayed behind, looking for their leader. Had the jackals been separated after the raid?

Did they know their boss was Infinite, she wondered, shimmying down the utility pole. They must have- unless their communication with Midyan was limited, and they hadn't made contact with her during or after the war.

More importantly, did Infinite know they were alive?


	6. Chapter 6

Another wave droned overhead, competing with the humming of the base's walls and machines and compounding into a buzzing cacophony in Infinite's ears.

Metal Sonic's fingers on the hard keyboard added to the painful din as he clacked commands into the computer— GUN databases, GUN live outposts, GUN communications— "They're patrolling the area for more energy spikes. Nothing out of the ordinary in Kũrage, so they've widened the search area." A curious beep, "GUN already had a task force in Marnebu."

"Did that madman actually fill the walls with computers?" Infinite grumbled from his balled-up position away from the whirring.

"Security measures— the walls are lined with sensors and defensive measures in case of a breach— they're hidden behind the outer layer to avoid detection."

"Well, they're still noisy," he growled as he pressed his palms into his ears, "so they're not as undetectable as he thinks."

A red eye slid across the black visor and fixed on the jackal for a moment before it returned to the monitor. The helicopter blades faded away, but the buzzing still hurt. It was almost worse than the fortress... the jackal recalled the incessant beeps and hums of the dark space and decided that nothing could top _that _clamor. His sternum throbbed and burned for each moment—

_Hold still_—_ Thrashing around like that only makes the assimilation more painful, you know!_

Infinite's teeth grinded as his own body trembled— the burning grew more intense—

_Speed it up_—_ set to max output! _

_ gaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA_—

The buzzing stopped. Infinite opened his eyes— Metal stood in the now dark room, the only source of faint humming being the Badnik's own CPU. The jackal stood up and strained to hear any footsteps or bursts of radio static- nothing.

"We should get going before it gets too hot," Metal buzzed as he turned away from the black monitor. Infinite hesitated and followed him down the hallways into a room with a blinking tower along the wall, wired to a circular pad on the floor. Once the android entered a command into the computer, the pad began to emit a dim, green light.

_ Abandoning ship at the first sign of trouble... how far we've fallen._

"Step on, I'll be behind you," Metal directed. The jackal paused as he considered the strange glowing panel, but stepped on.

Not the instantaneous reaction he'd expected— but the atmosphere shifted; not dry air turning hot and stagnant like a rotting carcass bouncing about the metallic walls and ceiling, but cool, dewy air... Infinite stepped into the darkness as his eyes adjusted... Boxes... a computer connected to the platform... a door open to darkness... stairs? His nose twitched and he took another step. Stairs not of steel but of lumber. He reached out to the wall, even, but with some texture.

What is this place... He glanced up the stairs before ascending— a doorknob? He pushed the door outward.

The dim light from outside painted the white tiles and white light fixtures blue gray. A stainless steel rectangle hummed while the other metallic objects stayed silent, displaying 2:07 in blue. Beyond a table, a large glass door revealed moonlit grass and brick walls. Infinite stepped into the kitchen just as a set of heavy footsteps climbed the basement stairs.

"Probably much more comfortable than the base," Metal beeped as he entered. "Less buzzing, maybe the occasional burst of air conditioning, but otherwise, it should be quieter."

The jackal's ears twitched to challenge them, but compared to the discord of the base, the house was near silent. He glanced out to the grass, "Where are we, Metal?"

The android clicked for a moment, "A suburb in Monada Rosa."

Monada Rosa. South of Red Gate City.

"Why are we in Monada Rosa?" Infinite hissed at the cobalt Badnik as his fur rose. Metal raised his hands— "Why are we in the United Federation in the first place, _Metal?"_

"Calm down," the robot urged. The jackal growled. "The Phantom Ruby's energy signature is unique, which means those who know what they're looking for will be able to track spikes and falls. In Ikezuré, far removed from the war, the smallest spike is enough to raise eyebrows. But in the UF, there's residual levels from the war across the continent— they'll mask your own energy levels."

Infinite held his blue eye in his palm as he sucked in a breath— _And how are you going to hide a black jackal on the continent that's actively looking for one?_ he wanted to huff— but his shuddering muscles stopped the rant in his tracks.

"This house isn't tied to Eggman, so GUN won't be busting in anytime soon," Metal continued. "And they might give up on you sooner than later, if another threat arises."

The jackal rubbed his brow and sighed. Despite keeping the particles from triggering another reaction, his limbs turned to strings with rocks tied to their ends... He fought to keep his balance, even standing still.

Metal joined his side to steady him, but the dizziness passed before his steely fingers touched Infinite waved the Badnik away— "I'm fine— it's gone..."

Metal hesitated, but backed away before he clicked and spun towards the kitchen. A door pulled open— soon enough, Metal returned with a cold electrolyte-packed drink. Infinite yanked the cap off as soon as the bottle was in his hands. He downed the entire bottle in seconds.

"So even without a reaction like before, the particles are still sapping your strength," the Badnik noted as his processor _chck-chck-chck-chck_ed. "You made a fast recovery, but maybe too fast for your body to adjust to it."

The jackal stumbled into the back of a sofa— a living room?— once he steadied himself, he shuffled towards the front of it and sank into it— soft, was this a sofa or a giant pillow? Another bottle slipped into his hand. "How were... the prototypes made?"

More clicking, then, "Well, essentially, once he'd completed his initial readings of the Phantom Ruby, Eggman started synthesizing duplicates to further understand its powers... the first couple of attempts ended with paperweights, then the prototypes came along, which was a start, but simple Badniks couldn't activate them... Then, at last, he'd gotten _one _of them to work, in a way."

A burning yellow eye glared at the bot from the sofa. His sternum throbbed, but he swallowed the bile and let the android continue.

"As much as he acted like he knew everything, he was clueless about the Phantom Ruby. Even after the assimilation, it was a total enigma to him.

"But, it didn't seem all that mysterious to you," Metal beeped. "Even less so when you were fully assimilated. You wielded it with precision immediately."

_It's mine. I was born for it._

The jackal said nothing as he untwisted the bottle cap.

"Eggman was always wary of you because of that— that a hired gun understood it better than he did. You became a very dangerous unknown."

He snuffed as he moved the bottle away from his lips. A dangerous unknown, hm?Not a bad label.

"I'm surprised you never turned on Eggman after the assimilation," the bot buzzed. "I would've in a heartbeat."

Infinite's ear flicked as he stared up to the ceiling— a gruff, larger jackal cleaned his weapon as he warned, _"Never bite the hand that's paying you."_

"I know that," a young, short-haired adolescent puffed back. His scarred friend considered the elder's words.

"Listen," the rugged weaponsmith warned. "Not _pays _or _paid. Paying. _Don't cross your employer while a job's still active. I don't care how terrible it is working for them— until they give you what you were promised, bite your tongue and endure it."

Heterochromic eyes narrowed at him, "And what if they don't pay us?"

The older jackal smirked at him. "You'll know what to do."

_Will you, though? Seems like you let any and everyone walk right over you_—_ madmen, robots, hedgehogs, old men, juvenile inmates, punks with knives... What are you, a jackal... or a doormat?_

Metal clicked a little, "Are you going to fall asleep there?" Infinite turned his head towards the bright red eyes. "There's a room upstairs for you, if you prefer."

The jackal rolled off the sofa and followed the Badnik toward another set of stairs— up and around, then down the hallway— "Bathroom to your left, towels to your right," Metal noted, before he stopped at the end and turned to the left. "Here you are."

Moonlight peeked through the thick curtains, just enough for Infinite's eyes to see the room. A bed with neutral sheets next to a simple nightstand— a closet with two boxes to its name. Ceiling fan with two strings dangling from its center.

"I know it's bare, but what do you think?" Metal beeped as the jackal stepped inside. As Infinite approached the bed, a clean, starchy scent greeted his nose. This might be the only time he had a room to call his own...

"It's... it's nice," he admitted as he tested the mattress with his hand. Soft, but with the right amount of resistance. "Thank you."

The robot beeped a bit— surprised? "Well— I'll be downstairs if you need anything. Make yourself at home." The jackal hummed as Metal moved away from the doorway. He sat on the mattress and kicked off his shoes— he sank onto the bed like a balloon losing its helium.

* * *

Smoke flooded his nostrils— the jackal coughed as he fought through the burning haze. His fur prickled as embers drifted onto him— where was the fire? His eyes stung each time he opened them—

His ears filled with screams as if the world was burning— then they became garbled as if a flood swallowed them up. He heaved and covered his ears—

All sensation halted. The emptiness pressed at him from all sides- he couldn't even move his head. Were his eyes open? He couldn't blink— or breathe, the air stayed trapped in his throat. Hhh— hhhh—

The air grew heavier and coiled around him, squeezing the last of the air out of his ribcage. His skin crawled and his heart slammed against his chest to escape. He tried to squirm— why can't I move, _move!_

A guttural vibration pervaded his frame— his skeleton turned to dust and every muscle ripped to pieces—

"_Sir_—_ Sir! The vitals are stabilizing— he's regaining consciousness!"_

"What? _How_—_"_

The surge of energy snapped the creature's eyes open. His ears filled with beeps and alarms— he turned towards the offending light and silenced it with a jerk of his hand.

His nostrils flared— past the scent of metal, a thick, odd odor. He glared at the shapes in front of him and the glass between them fractured.

"_Shutdown sequence rejected! He's... he's breaking out!"_

The crack gave— the fluid rushed out and the weightlessness began to fade. Outside air finally reached his nose— metal, silicon, sweat... his pupils contracted.

_Fear._

He jumped down from the broken container— his head filled with static as he tried to make sense of his surroundings— _dark, metallic room- the symbols aren't familiar_—no, they are, he just needed to clear his head of the static.

"So... you survived after all," a large shape, red and black as his vision tried to focus, spoke haughtily— but his large ears caught the uncertainty in his voice.

_You're afraid of me._

His lips pulled back in a grin as his body trembled with energy. He stood up as the weightless sensation returned.

_You should be..._

"Now— we had a deal, you and I!" the voice barked. "You're to lead my forces— to help me conquer this world!"

Another one? part of his hazy mind wondered. Why must men always seek to claim everything for themselves?

He considered the weight of the sharpening shape's words— as the details focused, so did a piece of the past. There's nothing left... this world has stolen everyone from me...

_They'll pay for what they've done..._

"Yes... we'll take this planet for ourselves, you and I..." the masked being growled. "And we'll eliminate everyone that dares to stand in our way."

The man cackled in agreement.


End file.
